Terry Taylor
In 1988, Taylor signed with the World Wrestling Federation. Debuting as babyface Scary Terry Taylor, he teamed with Sam Houston against The Conquistadors in his television debut on the August 1, 1988 airing of Prime Time Wrestling. After Houston was pinned, Taylor got on the mic and berated him for losing the match, before attacking him and turning heel. Taylor soon acquired Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his manager and was rebranded "The Red Rooster", a gimmick which saw him don red tights and ring coat and, later as a babyface, style his hair like a rooster's comb and strut like a rooster. Early in his Red Rooster stint, the heel Taylor was portrayed as a novice wrestler who could not navigate his way through matches without constant instructions from Heenan. The Rooster made his pay-per-view debut in the main event of Survivor Series '88, where he was the first wrestler eliminated from the match. On the January 7, 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, the Rooster lost a match to Tito Santana due to being distracted by an argument with Heenan. Following the loss, Heenan slapped Taylor. Taylor, tired of Heenan's demeaning style of coaching, turned against his manager and attacked him. He became a face as a result, though he retained the Red Rooster gimmick. Heenan feigned wanting to make amends with Taylor on Prime Time Wrestling, but it was a set-up for Taylor to be ambushed by Heenan's new protege, long-time enhancement talent Steve Lombardi, who Heenan reinvented as The Brooklyn Brawler. The two feuded, leading to the Rooster defeating the Brawler on the March 11, 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event and then defeating Heenan in a 30-second squash at WrestleMania V. Taylor would then primarily be used to put over other talent. While he still earned victories against enhancement talent, he was usually on the losing end against established stars. He worked a program with Mr. Perfect, losing to him at SummerSlam '89 and again on the November 25, 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. At Survivor Series '89, he was part of Dusty Rhodes's "Dream Team." Though Taylor was eliminated from the match, the Dream Team was victorious. The Rooster's last pay-per-view appearance was as a participant in the 1990 Royal Rumble match (replacing The Widow Maker), where he lasted only two minutes before being eliminated by André the Giant. Taylor left the Federation in June 1990. In September 1992, Taylor returned to the WWF as "Terrific" Terry Taylor. He continued wrestling as a heel and was primarily used to put over other talent. He appeared in the 1993 Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated in 24 seconds by Ted DiBiase. Taylor then became a broadcaster before he left the company in August 1993. Taylor returned to the WWF in 1998, doing interviews backstage. He lasted in this capacity for about a year, before leaving again. He returned in 2012 as a trainer for WWE's developmental subsidiary, NXT. Category:Current Alumni